"In the Name of God"

I am on the fence with this book and its involvement in the classroom. This book may take place in Syria but references to the country are few and the descriptions seem too generic to the region. At no time did I get a sense of Syria as a country. I found Nadia to be young, naive and flighty. This made it hard to connect with her and care about her story. She starts off the novel determined to go to medical school to help her Westernized cousins find the true path of a Muslim Woman (to get them to take up the veil). However, Nadia is also dealing with a crush on the older brother of those cousins, who just happens to have very radical ideas. It isn't long before this cousin is arrested for his beliefs/actions and the impressionable Nadia soon takes up his cause with a zeal that is in no way believable. Her move from devout to fanatic is too quick and seemingly without reason. Other than the fact that her beloved cousin was a fanatic and if she takes up his cause then he might love her -- if she ever sees him again. Then just as fast as she joins the cause the book is over. Nadia changes personality and beliefs so much throughout the novel that I never could quite believe that she was real. She changed with the wind and there was often no rhyme nor reason to her changes in attitude. This book also relies too much on stereotyping how Islamic nations look at the western world and at America. It also doesn't go much into the faiths and beliefs of Islam and all the familial interactions seem stale and a little forced. Although I could see why some may consider using it in their classrooms because it is an important topic.